DetraPel is a superhydrophobic liquid repellent.

DetraPel solves the problem of getting your belongings dirty or stained. We do this by selling a hydrophobic spray that repels any liquid from porous and nonporous objects. We have been in business for three years, at first going into the B2C and Read more...

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What problem does your solution solve?

DetraPel solves the problem of getting your belongings dirty or stained. We do this by selling a hydrophobic spray that repels any liquid from porous and nonporous objects.

Materials (clothing, shoes, furniture, etc.) are often soaked and or stained by liquid based substances. Liquid repellents in the market contain harmful chemicals, wear off after a short period of time, and only work on specific materials.

DetraPel is EPA compliant, non-toxic, and biodegradable. One application protects materials for up to a full year (protection time varies based on material and exposure to substances). DetraPel utilizes superhydrophobic nanotechnology to protect a wide range of porous and nonporous materials such as wool, cotton, suede, velvet, leather, and building materials.

What’s the market potential for your solution?

We split our business model between three markets. In the direct to online consumer market, we refer to our research in the Amazon market. Amazon has approximately $121,000 processed a month only in the water repellent market. Taking a 5% share in that market at a conservative estimate would bring us $6,050 a month translating into $72,100 a year from online sales alone.

On the B2C side we have a retail cleaning market that generates approximately $21.6 billion yearly, At a conservative estimate of 0.1%, we would generate $21.6 million yearly.

Looking at only the biggest cleaning solutions company (Ecolab) in 2012 alone, we see their earnings at $11.8 billion. A mere 1% of the B2B market would allow for a $118 million dollar revenue stream.

Altogether, the entire market could be estimated to be around $55 billion. We obviously do not believe we fit in the general cleaning solutions category nor do we think we can capture a large share of this, however, it gives us hope to do well.

Who are your customers?

DetraPel has a pretty wide target market because of the wide range of uses. Everyone from sneakerhead teens to casino owners has bought and loved DetraPel. Their uses are different, but what is the same is a wish to keep something clean, liquid free. DetraPel officially launched on February 7th, 2014 in 13 different store chains throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida. We have been primarily focused on the B2C and B2B markets. During the first 2.5 years of operations. We also sold directly online and through our primary B2B channels. We have received press coverage from Huffington Post, FOX29, NBC10, 6ABC, and many more. We have won multiple local level Philadelphia based pitch competitions as well.

How will you reach your customers?

Our current "go-to-market" strategy is two fold to cover both our B2C and B2B customers. On the B2C side our marketing and sales teams will contact influencers in the clothing and shoe social media field. These "influencers" will get a percentage of all of the products they help to sell. The influencers we are contacting have audiences of 20,000-6,000,000 people from all around the world. These influencers will help start what will turn into an organic marketing snowball. Beyond these "influencers" our sales teams will be going to trade shows and events to sell directly to customers. The last step after trade shows and events will be hitting big box, we want to make sure that we will be able to scale and meet demand. On the B2B side we will continue to reach out to industrial outfits and large institutions to cover things like carpets, furniture, and metal that can rust.

How will you make money?

We have been profitable for the last 2.5 years so we are hopeful with the next years moving on. We are currently talking with two different labs that would manufacture our solution to cut costs and raise quality. We have also begun talks with a revolutionary packaging company that will help lower our carbon footprint and raise perceived value.

What kind of partners will you need to make, support and distribute your solution?

Some of the partnerships we need moving forward are both on our front and backend side. On the backend, partnering with this new bottle manufacturer and package will be huge. Currently our volume is not large enough for this manufacture, but hopefully we will be able to convince them that working with us and scaling with us will be very beneficial to them in the end. On the front end, partnering with institutions, stores, websites, and events will help us gain exposure to reach new customers and make the buying process seamless.

What will your expenses include?

Over the last 6 months, DetraPel has become an extremly lean and mean company. Currently our only expenses are inventory, insurrence, a bit of R&D, and design work. None of the current team members are getting a salary, so any and all money coming in from sales is going right back into the company for things like our new website, packaging, and formula.

Who is your competition and how do you differ?

Our biggest competitors are NeverWet and ScotchGuard.

Unlike our competitors, DetraPel is eco-friendly, nontoxic, water based, and lasts for up to a year. ScotchGuard, is currently being sued because their fabric protector allegedly caused consumers to develop cancer. DetraPel is 100% EPA compliant and safe.

Our team currently consists of three members. I (David Zamarin) am the Founder and Head of Business Development. The next team member is Ali Eldessouky who is a partner and the Head of Operations. Ali is in charge of our supply chain, suppliers, order fulfillment, and B2B sales. The third team member is Jake Heller who is a partner and the Head of Marketing and Advertising. Jake Heller is in charge of marketing and advertising, B2C sales, and managing all customer accounts (B2B and B2C). The rest of the team consists of 2 interns doing our day to day shipping and fulfillment work.